


Fireflies In My Stomach

by orphan_account



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Amnesty - Fandom
Genre: Amnesty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Dani is a butch babe and I will die on this hill ksjlfhakffksd, F/F, Fluff and Angst, I guess now that Aubrey has canonically found out about Ned then this is an au?, I keep forgetting tags and having to edit them again, I tried to write fluff, It's an au now I guess, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicidal Ideation, This takes place after they solve the weird teleporting bigfoot thing, You have to be caught up to episode 24 if you read this!!!, don't even read the summary!!!, during one of the lunar interlude levelling up things, it felt weird, lmao this fic is not gonna age well, not like a lot though, so i added angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 04:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18423036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: This is a fic with the usual pining and blushing and whatnot, but I don't know how to write fluff on it's own, so I had to throw in a generous amount of angst. Ned confesses to Aubrey that he was one of the men who robbed her home the night before she left town. It does not go well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: this contains a description of a PTSD episode
> 
> Normally, I write a whole fic and upload a chapter a time, but I really wanted to get this first part up before the new episode comes out tomorrow.

“Dani, wait up!” 

Aubrey jogs down the path behind Amnesty Lodge. 

Dani slows her pace and looks back over her shoulder. Her orange eyes gleam in setting sunlight, her sharp canines poking through a small, pleasantly surprised smile. 

Aubrey’s heart rate increases as she approaches, and it’s not attributable to the running. 

She shrugs nervously. “Mind if I join you?” 

Dani’s smile widens, fully revealing her fangs. Aubrey does her best not to melt right then and there. 

“Do you even have to ask?” She gestures forward as if to say ‘come on.’ 

Aubrey steps to Dani’s side. She can feel her temperature rising. That isn’t a big problem for most people, but most people don’t have issues with… you know… accidentally setting things on fire when they get emotional. She takes a deep breath of the cool, evening air to calm down. 

Noticing the sigh, Dani whispers, “I love the smell of spring.”

Still flustered, Aubrey suddenly turns to face her. “What—? Oh. Yeah, me too.” 

Dani has started walking with her eyes closed, which probably isn’t a very good idea. Then again, she walks this path every day, and Duck does a pretty good job of keeping it clear of branches and other obstructions. She supposes Dani knows the route well enough to follow it blindly for a moment. 

With her eyes closed, Aubrey is given a chance to admire her.  _ What a handsome woman,  _ she thinks to herself. The orange light filtering through the trees lights her blonde hair in patches, creating the illusion that it’s lightly smoldering. The smattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose illuminated by the evening glow appear to be different shades of rose, amber, and— 

“Ah!” Aubrey yelps. 

While Dani could walk without looking, she should’ve been watching her step. She squeezes her eyes shut and prepares to get intimately acquainted with the forest floor, but… she doesn’t hit the ground. 

“You might want to watch your step.” 

She feels Dani’s strong hands gripping her waist, and her face instantly flushes. She realizes how intimate of a position they’re in and quickly finds her footing. 

“Oh– uh– thanks– thank you,” Aubrey sputters, her face still dangerously hot. 

Dani waits a beat before responding. She tilts her head with an amused smile. “You’re cute when you’re nervous.” She doesn’t give Aubrey the chance to react before she starts heading down the trail again. 

Aubrey is so stunned that she forgets how to walk for a second. When she snaps out of it, she quickly catches up. 

“What– why would you– why would I be nervous?” she stammers. 

Dani turns to her with a knowing smile and playful eyes. “The only subtlety you’re any good at is sleight of hand.” 

In a panic, mostly based on reflex, Aubrey silently produces a rose from her sleeve. Its petals are little singed— she really needs to cool down. Dani throws her head back and giggles, which does  _ not _ help. 

She gracefully accepts the flower with a twinkle in her eyes. “Do your roses usually catch fire?” 

Aubrey can’t speak, so she awkwardly shrugs. 

The two start to round a curve, and the woods on the right quickly thin out to reveal a large pond peppered with lily pads. 

Excitedly, Dani turns to Aubrey. “Have you been down here before?” 

“Uh…” She’s still tongue-tied, so all she can do is shake her head. 

Dani’s face lights up. “This is my favorite spot to sit.” 

With shocking ease, she scales a rather large rock nestled beneath a canopy of branches. Aubrey can’t help but gawk as Dani extends a surprisingly muscular arm out to her. She quickly wipes the awe from her face and takes her hand. Dani helps her up with no difficulty. 

Aubrey seats herself about two feet away from where Dani is perched overlooking the water. She’s very glad they’re sitting, because she’s pretty sure her legs have temporarily stopped working. 

Dani scoots over, closing most of the gap between them, and points to the pond. “Do you see them?” 

“See… what?” At least her voice has come back a little bit. She turns to Dani, whose wonder-filled eyes are still fixed on the water. 

“The fireflies.” 

Aubrey looks back, and sure enough, there are a few glowing twinkles flickering over the water. 

Dani’s voice is wistful and soft. “We don’t have them back in Sylvane. They were the first thing I loved about Earth. I’ve always thought they look like living stars.” 

Aubrey has never thought much about fireflies. She supposes she’s just always taken them for granted. As the sun continues to set, more lightning bugs start to appear, and she can see what Dani means. There are more here than she’s ever seen in one place, and they really do look like living, dancing stars. 

Distracted by the beautiful, twinkling lights in front of her, Aubrey doesn’t notice Dani moving until her arm is wrapped around her side. A little startled, Aubrey tries to make out her expression in the rapidly fading light. Dani smiles warmly before fixing her gaze back on the water. Aubrey does the same, this time hesitating a moment before resting her head on Dani’s shoulder. 

They sit in the peacefully quiet darkness until Dani takes a breath like she’s going to speak. Aubrey lifts her head and looks up to her. She looks like she wants to say something but can’t form the words. With her lips slightly parted, and an earnest look in her eyes, their faces are only inches apart. Aubrey’s heart finally slows, patiently waiting for Dani to say something, but she doesn’t get the chance. 

A twig snaps behind them, and both immediately turn to the sound. Aubrey instinctively lights her hand on fire, which illuminates the path behind them. 

Ned drops his dim flashlight. “Jesus, Aubrey, don’t do that to me!” 

“Well, don’t sneak up on us in the woods at night, then,  _ Ned! _ ” 

He stoops down to retrieve his flashlight. 

“What do you need?” Dani asks. Aubrey detects a hint of disappointment in her voice. 

He rubs his neck bashfully. “Sorry, Mama told me I could find Aubrey out here…” 

Aubrey can’t hide the annoyance in her voice. “What do you need?” 

“Eh, it’s fine. You look like you’re busy; we can talk later.” 

Aubrey is irritated for a moment longer until she notices his demeanor. He looks sad and maybe a little anxious. She’s never seen him look so… humble. 

“Okay… is everything alright?” 

He contemplates for a moment. “... yeah. Everything’s alright. It’s just– I’ll talk to you later. Sorry to interrupt.” He turns and sheepishly trudges back the way he came. 

Aubrey and Dani share a glance and silently agree that that was weird. 

They shrug it off and continue to watch the lightning bugs for a little while longer. It’s still a pleasant night, but the intimate moment they were sharing before they were interrupted is long gone. Aubrey can’t say she isn’t a little disappointed, but… this is still a really lovely way to spend the early part of her evening.  

Soon it gets chilly, and they reluctantly finish walking down the trail. It ends toward the front of the lodge. 

Dani is the first to speak. “I think I need a dip in the hot spring. You’re welcome to join me.” For the first time tonight, she looks nervous. 

Aubrey wants to, but she can’t stop thinking about Ned. If she’s going to hang out… wait… is this just hanging out? Yeah, it’s just hanging out. Regardless, she doesn’t want to be thinking about Ned the whole time. 

“I think I should… probably find Ned,” she reluctantly admits. 

“Oh, yeah. Of course. You should… yeah. Find Ned.” 

Aubrey is puzzled by how flustered Dani is. She’s never seen her act so jittery, and in the dim lighting she’s having a hard time making out whether or not she’s blushing too. Aubrey isn’t sure if she should hug her… worried she’s been standing there for too long, she opts for an awkward wave. 

“G’night, Dani.” 

She awkwardly waves back. “Night, Aub.” 

Dani circles around the lodge to the back, and Aubrey climbs the front steps. On the porch, Mama is there waiting. She looks worried. 

“Aubrey, dearest, did you speak to Ned?” 

She’s a little off put by her concern. “He told me he wanted to talk, but then he left. Is everything okay? He was acting really weird.” 

Mama looks antsy now, too. “I’ve never seen him like this. I’m worried he did something really bad this time, but he wouldn’t tell me anything.” 

“Well, where is he?” 

“Cellar. He said he wanted to be somewhere private.” 

“Okay… I guess I’ll go down there.” 

She walks back down the steps. Aubrey’s mind is racing with a thousand questions and possibilities as she circles to the side of the lodge. What did he do? What did he say? Why does he want to talk to  _ her _ about it?  

She walks down the narrow stairs and finds Ned pacing near the door to the panic room. He hears her enter and stops to look over his shoulder. He swivels around, and she gets a good look at him. His hair is messy like he’d been running his hands through it. He looks like he’s aged a few years since she saw him less than an hour ago. 

“You’re acting really weird, Ned. You’ve got Mama worried sick.” 

Eager to chicken out, he says, “Oh, I suppose I should go check on her.” He tries to walk past her, but she grabs his arm. 

“Uh-uh. Fess up.” 

He returns to where he was standing, and he looks ready to bolt. After a minute, he sits down on a stool nearby defeatedly. 

He shakes his head. “God, I can’t run from this anymore.” 

Aubrey gets the impression that he’s talking to himself. 

“What did you say, and how many people did you tell?” 

Still looking down, he says, “No, no. It’s nothing like that.” He sighs and looks up to meet her eyes. 

Aubrey is taken aback. She’s never seen him look so genuine. This is the same look he gave her back in the woods, only amplified. This is… this is that weird look he gave her in the morgue. She can’t make out what the expression means, but she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that whatever he’s expressing is real. 

“Ned, you’re… kinda freaking me out a little bit.” 

He takes a deep breath. “You know… in the hospital a while back, after the Pizza Hut incident… you were talking to Mama about the night you left home?” 

Her demeanor suddenly changes. That’s a touchy memory and a very intimate piece of information about her. She’s not sure how comfortable she is with the fact that Ned knows about that. 

“I didn’t… I didn’t realize you could hear us.” 

“Aubrey, I—” He stops and looks like he’s having a hard time keeping his composure. “Aubrey, I have something I need to tell you about who I was before I became… Ned.” 

She’s not sure how to respond, so she nods for him to continue. 

“It’s no secret that I’m a little suspicious about my business dealings, but before I came to Kepler, I… made a pretty dishonest living. I got in way over my head with… a friend.” He delivers the last word with a hint of bitterness. “I wanted out, so he and I cut a deal. We’d do one last job together and part ways.” 

Aubrey hasn’t pieced together what he’s getting at, but she’s getting sick to her stomach, like her body remembers something that she doesn’t. 

“That night your house caught fire… my friend and I… we were…” 

She takes a step back. “No. No, you…” 

Ned stands. “Aubrey, I’m so sorry. I had no—” 

“No!” Fire flickers across her fingers as she clenches her fists. 

He takes a step towards her, and she takes another step back. “Aubrey—” 

“ _ NO! _ Don’t touch me! You– you– you–” Her vision is starting to go. 

“Aubrey, careful!” 

Her sight is nearly gone and she stumbles backward. Where is she? She hears someone calling her name, but she can’t tell whose voice it is. The fire from her hands has spread to her arms, and she feels hands on her shoulders. As her hearing fades into a dull ringing, she hears her name one last time; it sounds like two voices– Ned and a woman’s. 

“ _ AUBREY!! _ ” 

Aubrey opens her mouth to scream, but she can’t hear if she succeeds. 

“ _ MOM!! _ ” 

She feels herself being dragged and fights to get these foreign hands off of her. She has to go back inside!  _ She has to go back! _ The ground beneath her vibrates from a large force nearby, but she can’t tell what it was with her lost senses. She fights against an invisible opponent until she can’t anymore, and she loses the rest of her consciousness. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: some mild suicidal ideation

Aubrey wakes up in a hospital bed with a start. She sits upright and darts her eyes around the room, breathing fast. She’s disoriented, having woken up from the kind of sleep that makes it feel like no time has passed. It’s dark, but the moonlight from the window is enough for her to make out Mama sitting pensively in the chair to the left of her bedside.

She jumps at Aubrey’s sudden movement. “It’s alright, dear.” She’s quick to stand and cradles Aubrey’s face in her hands. “Shh, shh, everything is alright, baby.”

Aubrey catches her breath after a moment in Mama’s calming aura.

“What happened? I… I don’t remember what happened.”

Mama’s worried expression returns. “Can you try?”

Aubrey closes her eyes. “Um… I went for a walk with Dani… Fire. Fire and Ned— where’s Ned?”

At the mention of his name, Mama tries to suppress a pained expression. She gestures to the curtain bisecting the room.

“He’s resting over there. He’s not… he’s not doin’ so hot, sugar.”

Her memories are coming back in flashes, just bits and pieces. Ned… did something… why is she thinking about her mom? She’s still trying to wrap her head around it when she’s suddenly remembers losing control of her fire.

She gasps. “Is everyone at the lodge okay?!”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, darling. Everyone’s fine, thanks to him.” She nods to the curtain. “When you lost control of the fire, he dragged you into the panic room. That was real smart quick thinkin’ but…” She shakes her head. “I can’t for the life of me figure out why he locked himself in there with you.”

Aubrey turns to stare at the mint colored divider. “He… he…”

A very important piece of the puzzle comes back to her… Ned robbed her home the night her mom died. She feels so many things at once that she gives up trying to decipher the cacophony of emotions.

“Mama… can I be alone, please?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Would you like some water?”

She nods.

Mama stands and starts to leave, but she stops in the doorway.

“Aubrey? Ned does a pretty good job of pretending that he only cares about himself, but… I think he proved otherwise tonight.”

She smiles and closes the door gently as she exits, completely unaware that she’s thrown a rock into the pool of already screaming thoughts in Aubrey’s head.

Aubrey turns and rests her feet on the floor. She hasn’t had an episode since she accidentally destroyed the general store, and she’s certainly never had one where she spontaneously combusts, so she wants to be sure she stands slowly. Her joints are a little weak, and she’s got a couple scrapes and bruises from thrashing, which doesn’t surprise her, but for the most part she’s fine. She inhales deeply, steps forward, and gently pulls the curtain.

Ned is sleeping, but he doesn’t look comfortable. He’s bandaged, hooked up to an IV, and wearing an oxygen tube. There’s a nasty looking row of stitches on the side of his head.

She gasps and drops the part of the curtain she’d pushed aside, concealing him again. She staggers back a few feet before dashing out of the room.

The fluorescent lights sting her eyes, and the chemically artificial smell of sanitizer is so powerful that she can taste it. Every footfall, every lightswitch, every pen click reverberates like an excruciatingly loud game of pinball in her skull.

She can’t stand to be in here for another second.

She stuffs her left hand deep into her pocket to hide the hospital bracelet, and walks as swiftly and calmly as she can through the labyrinth of halls. She sees a sign that reads ‘EXIT ⇨’ and quickens her pace. She turns the corner and stops in her tracks. Mama was about to round the corner as well. She stops to avoid colliding with Aubrey’s studded jacket and some water sloshes out of the paper cup in her hand.

“Aubrey? Where—?”

Aubrey steps around her and runs the last twenty foot stretch to the exit. No one stops her, and she sprints down the street as fast as she can.

She runs and runs until her feet are numb and her lungs feel like they’re on fire.

* * *

She doesn’t know what time it is or how long she’s been running, and she doesn’t care. She slows her pace, and for the first time since she started running, she examines her surroundings. She’s surprised she made it all the way to the lake. She walks a short distance down to the edge of the water to shield herself from the road’s view. Panting, she drops to her knees and slumps into a sitting position on the thin bar of sand separating the trees from the water.  

She can’t run anymore… She has to think about it now. That realization shocks the numbness out of her chest and her fills her eyes with tears. She hugs her knees to her chest, rests her forehead on them, and weeps.

She asked Janelle to take her magic away for exactly this reason. She can’t control it. She could have killed everyone in the lodge. Jake, Dani, Mama, Barclay— everyone!

Practically drowning in her own tears, she struggles to breathe. She sobs until her stomach is sore and there are no tears left. She finishes crying and does her best to catch her breath. Hugging her knees is restricting her chest, so she extends her legs. She accidentally plunges her feet into the shallow water, but she doesn’t care. For a few moments, all she does is watch the small, moonlit ripples lap against the soles of her boots. Then, she looks farther out at the rest of the lake. Save for her interference, the lake is perfectly still. Under the moon and stars, it looks like a reflective slab of obsidian. Even during the day, she can’t see the other side; she’s not sure why she’s trying to search for it now.

If Janelle can’t take the magic away… maybe she should swim into the lake until she wouldn’t be able to swim back.

She shakes her head and the thought is gone as quickly as it came. Doing something that stupid wouldn’t change anything, and she knows it. She has people who love her, Dr. Harris needs her, and all that jazz… She lifts her brows with acknowledgement. That’s the first one of those she’s had in a _long_ while.

To avoid spiralling, she reminds herself not to dwell on ‘what if’s, but… if it weren’t for Ned…

Oh god, Ned. She rubs her eyes. What is she supposed to do? Tell him to go to hell and never speak to her again? Report him to the police? What good would any of that do? She has no idea how to start untangling how she feels about this.

There is one thing she can’t stop thinking about. He locked himself in the panic room with her. What the hell was he thinking? He could have died— he almost _did._ Maybe he did it out of some desperate attempt to pay penance or out of some sense of guilty obligation, but… she remembers what Mama told her; he must care about her. She gets the feeling he wouldn’t do something so drastic just to appease his conscience… He did something pretty damn noble— he risked his life to save the lodge, and a second time to protect her from herself. That’s not a very ‘Ned’ thing to do.

She contemplates for a long time, but… inevitably, she realizes something. If he’s almost a completely different person than the man she met less than a year ago, then this is undoubtedly a different man from the one who robbed her home. _That_ Ned wouldn’t have risked his life for her.

Still thinking of how she should move forward, a long way across the water, she notices a light. It flickers like a lantern for a moment, but then it starts to bob up and down, and she realizes the light is actually very close, just small. A single firefly is floating in front of her a few feet away.

She chuckles softly to herself. “Poetic,” she whispers to the bug.

She stands and prepares herself to walk back into town. Mama must be worried sick. She takes only a few squelching steps down the road before a pair of headlights round the bend ahead. The tall truck slows down as it nears her. She hears one of the doors open, but she can’t see who gets out because she’s blinded by the lights. She’s just about to start running when she recognizes her voice.

“Aubrey!” Mama cries. She pulls her down into a hug for a moment before pulling away. With one hand still grasping Aubrey’s shoulder, she points at her with the other.

“Don’t scare me like that again, young lady. I was about to give up and rally the folks back at Amnesty Lodge to form a search party.”

“I’m sorry, Ma. I didn’t—”

“No, no, no. I’ll be having none of that; I understand why you ran off.” She ushers Aubrey to the truck and doesn’t speak again until they’re both buckled in. Mama sits quietly for a moment before she speaks.

“Ned woke up.”

Aubrey looks over with wide eyes.

“I asked him if he had any idea where you might be. He had no clue, but… he was able to tell me what happened before he got barbecued.”

Aubrey’s eyes start to water, and Mama takes her hand.

“I know, sweetheart. Let’s get you home. I’m sure Barclay will be happy to make you somethin’ to eat when we get there.”

* * *

Back at Amnesty Lodge, it’s quiet, as Aubrey expected. Barclay is already in the kitchen when they walk in. He leans out of the doorway a moment after they shut the door.

“Tea?”

Aubrey nods, and he ducks back in.

Mama takes Aubrey’s hand. “Why don’t you get out of those wet shoes and into something comfortable. I’ll tell Barclay to bring everything to your room. Does that sound good?”

She nods, and Mama squeezes her hand before letting go.

Aubrey makes it halfway to her room when she’s intercepted by Dani.

She looks relieved. “I thought I heard Mama’s truck. I haven’t been able to sleep. Are you alright?”

Aubrey nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”

“What happened? Is Ned okay?”

Aubrey looks overwhelmed.

“Sorry, you must be exhausted. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She hesitates like she wants to say something else. “Can I… give you a hug?”

Aubrey blinks. “Are you kidding?”

Dani gives her a small smile and gently wraps her arms around her.

Aubrey sighs. Of course Dani gives great hugs. How else could she be perfect?

“Hey, Dani? This is a really nice hug, but my shoes are wet and they have been for a while.”

Dani pulls away. “Oh, sorry. We can talk more tomorrow. If you want to, of course.”

Aubrey smiles. “Yeah, we can talk more tomorrow.”

Dani starts to go back to her room, but she turns around. “Oh, and I fed Dr. Harris.”

“Oh! Thank you, I was worried about that.”

Dani  lingers a moment with a smile. “Goodnight, Aub.”

She smiles back. “Night, Dan.”


	3. Chapter 3

It’s been about a week since Aubrey’s meltdown, now. Mama and Aubrey are driving down some back roads to get to the hospital. Aubrey hasn’t been able to work up the courage to face Ned yet, and she decided that today is the day. She can’t put it off any longer. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t get much sleep last night. She doesn’t know why she expected anything different. The tea helped, but Barclay’s herbal wonders could only do so much.

Mama pulls into the parking lot.

“You’re sure you wanna go in all by yourself?”

Aubrey nods.

“You’re _sure_ you’re not gonna set anything on fire.”

She nods again.

“Okay.” Mama reaches for her hand. “First sign a trouble, I’m comin’ in. Good luck, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

Aubrey cautiously hops out of the truck and makes her way inside.

2-1-8-B, 2-1-8-B, 2-1-8-B, is her silent mantra. She checks in, and it doesn’t take her long to find Ned’s room.

She hesitates. Imagining this and actually doing it are two very different things. She’s trying to hold on to the things she’d planned to say, but trying to grasp the words is like trying to catch tadpoles with her bare hands.

Eventually, she just thinks ‘fuck it’ and opens the door. Ned is sleeping. No IV or oxygen tube this time, and he’s wearing a regular t-shirt with his scrubs. Not entirely sure what to do– she’d planned on him being awake– she walks in farther and takes a seat in the chair on the other side of his bed. From this angle, she can see where the row of stitches on the side of his head used to be, and she has to take a moment to breathe. They’re gone now, and they’ve been replaced with a dark scab above his ear about three inches long.

The guilt has been eating away at her for a long time, but now it feels like there’s an anvil on her chest. She rests her head in her hands.

“I’m sorry, Ned. I’m so sorry. God, where do I even start? I guess… I forgive you? I forgave you days ago, I’ve just felt too guilty to come back. I just… I know you’re a different person— a better person. I know Kepler is a place that changes you… and there has to be some reason why we became… friends.” She’d been a little uncertain about delivering that last word, but now that she’s said it she knows it’s true. She shakes her head, and looks up again. “Damn it… I really am friends with the local sleazebag… There’s no point in being mad about things that won’t change. I’ve spent so long being so angry, and… at some point I just have to let it go.”

She eyes Ned over again. He seems to still be sleeping peacefully… until his brows twitch.

Aubrey is confused for a split second, but then she pinches the bridge of her nose and exhales with annoyance.

“Open your eyes, Ned.”

His eyes stay closed for a moment longer before he peeks one open. “... sleazebag?”

Aubrey rolls her eyes. “Goddamnit, Ned. You were really gonna let me say all of that and then repeat it again when I thought you were awake?”

He gives a little shrug. “I don’t know, I didn’t want to interrupt. You seemed like you were on a roll.”

She smiles with her tongue pressed to the inside of her cheek and lightly slaps the back of his arm.

“Jackass.”

He nods. “Yeah, I deserved that one.”

They meet eyes and his smile fades into a more serious expression.

“You mean that, though? You’re not gonna try to set my ass on fire again?”

She smiles sadly. “No… I didn’t even try to do it the first time.”

He mirrors her expression. “I know.”

They sit quietly for a moment before Aubrey speaks up.

“Sorry about the…” She points to his head.

“Oh this?” Ned gently touches the side of his head, and his eyes light up a little. “I think it’ll add to my look. The mysterious owner of a mystical museum. Maybe I got it from the Jersey Devil, or a jealous ex-lover. No one has heard the same story twice.”

Aubrey shakes her head. Even after all this, he’s still Ned. They chat a little while longer about his plans to start rumors about the accident until he lets out a chesty cough. Aubrey looks concerned and gets ready to alert a nurse, but Ned holds out his hand until the short fit is over.

“Sorry, I’m okay. This is way better than a few days ago.” He notices the guilty expression on Aubrey’s face. “Oh, no don’t worry about it, kiddo. It’ll be gone in no time.”

The tension in her shoulders relaxes, but she doesn’t feel much better. She thinks a minute before saying what’s on her mind.

“I’m gonna get better at this. I promise.”

“What, magic?”

She smiles. “Being a friend.”

Ned smiles back. “This has been nice and all, but I don’t think I can handle much more sap.”

Aubrey holds in a sigh of relief. This felt good, but being here for only fifteen minutes was absolutely exhausting.

“Me neither.” She stands and contemplates for a second before lunging forward and giving him a quick hug.

Not expecting the embrace, his arms stay stiff outright a moment before he awkwardly pats her back.

“Bye, Ned.” She smiles one last time before bounding out the door, leaving Ned a little stunned with a small smile on his face.

* * *

The drive back is pleasantly quiet. The sun is setting and the few trees that aren’t pines are starting to bud. Mama always takes the prettiest roads. She holds her hand out the window in the cool air and she can almost feel the heaviness she’s been carrying in her bones floating away. Mama sees Aubrey’s peaceful expression and smiles.

A short while later, Aubrey is taking her time walking back to the lodge from the car. Mama makes it in first, and Aubrey can see her talking to someone with a smile on her face.

Dani jogs out smiling eagerly. “Hey, Aubrey. Any chance I could get you to come out to hot spring with me?”

“Yeah, sure.” It’s late, so there probably won’t be anyone else out there.

Dani bounces excitedly a couple times. “Okay. Meet me out back.” She swiftly heads toward the spring.

Aubrey stares curiously in the direction she ran off to.

She changes into her swimsuit, snags a towel, and heads outside. As she steps off the back deck, she stops in her tracks. Dani has her back to her. She’s wearing a pair of black board shorts and a matching bikini top. Her exposed shoulders are peppered with freckles…

Embarrassed for staring, Aubrey looks away and approaches. “Hey, Dan.”

Dani turns around. “You ready?”

Aubrey nods sheepishly. She’d been distracted by Dani’s appearance when she walked out, so it’s only just as she dangles her feet in the water that she notices that Dani has lit a small candle. It’s not exactly providing a ‘hanging out’ ambiance.

Dani notices her staring at the candle. “Oh, sorry. Did I make it weird? I can put it out.”

“What? No, I think.. I think I like it?” She looks Dani over. She’s relaxed a little, but she’s still fidgety.

“Are you okay?”

Dani blinks. “Uh, yeah, I’m just… nervous.”

Aubrey tilts her head curiously. “Why?”

“Um… I wrote... a poem for you.”

She smiles softly. “Really?” This is… adorable.

Dani nods, her cheeks getting very red. She lifts a small, folded piece of paper that Aubrey hadn’t noticed from behind the candle.

“It’s pretty short, but I hope you like it…”

Aubrey can’t really decipher what she’s feeling, but she knows one thing for certain: her heart feels like it’s about to burst out of her chest. As she unfolds the note, she’s really glad they’re both near the water in case she accidentally sets the paper on fire.

Her handwriting is a little messy, but still legible.

          Everything about you is

          Fireflies

          The light behind your eyes

          The fire that dances across your fingers

          Butterflies are overrated because you give me

          Fireflies in my stomach

Dani’s hands are folded tightly in her lap, and she’s staring downward. Her cheeks are nearly scarlet red by the time Aubrey finishes reading it.

She stares at the note speechlessly.

“Uh… It’s okay if you don’t like it…”

Aubrey looks up at her, dumbfounded. “Are you _kidding_ me?”

Dani finally looks over to her, doe-eyed.

Aubrey sets the small paper on a dry patch of grass and shakes her head. With a breathy laugh, she says, “I am ethically and morally obligated to kiss you now.”

Sitting shoulder to shoulder, she has to turn to take both sides of Dani’s face into her hands. She looks deeply into her eyes for any hint of hesitation, finds none, and finally closes the gap between their lips. The kiss is soft and sweet, full of emotion even though it lasts only for a moment. They part quickly, and Dani, having been frozen, rests one hand on Aubrey’s waist and another on her thigh.

She looks stunned for a second.

“So… so you liked it.”

Aubrey laughs. “Yeah, I liked it.”

“Oh… well, in that case—”

She pulls her into another kiss, deeper this time. When she pulls away, Aubrey is left speechless. Dani giggles, and Aubrey remembers her own name.

Watching Dani laugh, all she can think is…

 _God, am I in love_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing constantly for like two weeks and this is a byproduct if my manic writing frenzy. This is also what I would call my first semi-successful attempt at writing fluff I hope you guys liked it :)


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